1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of authentication and more particularly to authenticating users of social networks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Social networking Internet sites (hereinafter “social networks”) such as MySpace and Facebook allow individuals to connect over the Internet for various purposes from business networking, to sharing common interests, to dating. Individuals generally have the ability to represent themselves however they choose, through these social networks, simply by creating an account and providing whatever details they would like to share with the other users of the social network.
While many individuals are honest in their self-representations, other individuals attempt to pass themselves off as being older or younger than they really are, or of a different gender, for example. Often, such misrepresentations are done for the purpose of taking advantage of other users of the social network, especially children, sometimes for criminal ends.
An additional problem that has arisen in social networks is the problem of impersonation, where someone gains unauthorized access to an existing account of a legitimate user. With the unauthorized access, the impersonator can post content and/or communicate with other users, typically in a manner that the legitimate user would find objectionable. Such impersonations can both damage the reputation of the legitimate user and harm other users.